The Spirit itself (Himself) beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Romans 8:16
Mystery surrounded the identity of a little girl discovered in a Roma camp in Greece by police during a drug investigation. They spotted the tiny green-eyed blonde peeking out from under a blanket, and decided that she obviously didn’t belong there. The people she was with had two or three different accounts of how they came to have the five or six year old child with them. All police could learn from the girl was that her name was Maria and she knew only a few Roma and Greek words. In response to the claims of the Roma couple that the girl was their own, police ordered DNA tests, because the girl looked nothing like those people. To everyone’s surprise, those DNA tests did conform that the Roma couple was telling the truth. Maria is definitely their daughter. There is an even more reliable test than DNA to determine whether we are the sons or daughters of God.
Our text speaks of the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit to verify our identity and our relationship to God. Romans 8:9 clearly declares that anyone who does not have the Spirit does not belong to God. So that raises a question about some of the charismatic organizations who teach that after conversion, new Christians need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. If the Holy Spirit is not within such a person, that person is not a Christian and is still in his sins. A new Christian who is praying such a prayer is asking God to do something that He has already done. And our text declares that the Spirit Himself will provide the evidence that we are truly born of God. What evidence does the Holy Spirit provide to give us this assurance?
It is very important to have the evidence that we are born again into God’s family. Our text says the Holy Spirit works with our spirit to produce this evidence. One of the most wonderful ways in which the Spirit manifests our possession of eternal life is in the unlocking of the mysteries of the Word of God. Truths in the Bible that elude the most learned of sinners become delightfully obvious to the simplest of saints. Another confirmation of the presence of the Holy Spirit within is the desire to serve and please our Lord. This is not a desire of the unsaved, although many will passionately serve their religion or perform their good works. The Holy Spirit will also lead a true believer into true enjoyment of the company of fellow believers, a pleasure that is a mystery to the soul that is yet in sins.
There are many ways in which the Spirit witnesses with our spirits as to our identity as the children of God. How many more can you think of today? – Jim MacIntosh